Dualism

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Dualism

Dualism
I believe that the popular or ghost in the machine form of substance dualism best solves the mind body problem. My views in this area have been influenced by my twelve years of Catholic education. The soul, or mind, depending on your level of belief, was a complete and separate entity and was the center of a human being. The body was an ambulatory device that the soul directed. The idea that the mind is a separate entity and that it is independent of the physical body is the central point of substance dualism.
Churchland explains that substance dualism claims that the mind is a distinct nonphysical thing, a complete nonphysical entity that is independent of any physical body to which it is temporarily attached. Any and all mental states and activities, as well as physical ones, originate from this unique entity. Substance dualism states that the real essence of you has nothing to do with your physical body, but rather from the distinct nonphysical entity of the mind. The mind is in constant interaction with the body. The body's sense organs create experiences in the mind. The desires and decisions of the mind cause the body to act in certain ways. This is what makes each mind's body its own.
The popular or ghost in the machine form of substance dualism states that a person is a ghost in a machine, the ghost being the mind or
spirit and the machine is the body. Within this description, the mind/spirit controls the body and is in intimate contact with the brain. The brain would be the nexus between the mind and body.
The popular form of substance dualism was adopted after the difficulties of Cartesian dualism could not be overcome. Rene Descartes stated that the nonphysical and the physical could not interact. This became a problem in dualism since the nonphysical mind needed to interact with the physical body. These difficulties provided a motive for the move to popular substance dualism.
The first major argument for substance dualism is religion. Each of the major religions place belief in life after death that there is an immortal soul that will survive death. This very closely resembles substance dualism. The mind can be substituted for the immortal soul. In fact the two are almost interchangeable. This argument is primarily the basis for my own belief in substance dualism. My personal experiences as a religion student give me insight into this argument.
The second major argument for substance dualism is irreducibility. This points ...

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